SUBMISSION DETAILS:

Follows the basic premise of the original map21: a doorway between worlds, a strange dimension stuck between Earth and Hell. Weirdness abounds.

Still needs a few tweaks and touchups.

No skill levels or DM yet.

Date information

First created at:

18-Feb-2012
(14:26)

Last updated at:

19-Feb-2012
(01:13)

Map link last updated at:

18-Feb-2012
(14:26)

Submitted image links:

Comments:

zodiac
wrote on
20-Mar-2012
(01:09)

Just played, the map has potential but I'm not really happy as it stands. I'll start with the good - the level of interconnect is great, and the library section is excellent. The "open box" style also recalls some of Sandy's levels, and the texturing and visual design is great.

The thing that really stands out, though, is how big things are. It's impressive, but it hurts the gameplay. You can give even large swarms of enemies the runaround. I could see a more localized version of this in a later hell level, "The Baron's Manor" or the like, but I expect more human-scale architecture in a Map 21. Specifically:

+ Tightening and lowering the 'slime circle' in the west makes it play better, and a lowered ceiling (or perhaps a different traversal pattern) would draw focus on the hangmen. I barely registered them while playing since they weren't in the field of vision on the path to follow, which is a shame since they look cool from on high.

+ Cutting the size of the first two rooms and the hallway branching off of them would be helpful in two ways. First, it would be the 'human' side, making the library and water area seem more impressive by comparison. Second, condensing the scale would make the fun parts (the imp swarm by the plasma, the arachnatrons) more threatening. A side benefit is that the top sections could be lowered, shrinking the length of the passageways between north and south.

+ The "invincible room" is cool, but it doens't feel like Doom 2 to me. Others may disagree; it's definitely fun, but I see it as too arcade-y for Petersen to pull. He aimed to make set pieces cinematic, whereas this is pure game, like a starman in Mario. Romero would be familiar, but it wasn't his style. His maps took aim, using placement rather than monster boxes.